Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 73 Wizards Have No Faith

In Rice's time, African tree snake skin wasn't nearly as hard to find as it is now, and wizards secretly possessed spells and potions to counteract this potion. But in modern times, African tree snake skin can only be found in small quantities in potions masters' lockers, and potions to break the spell and counteract Polyjuice Potion have been completely lost.

Why is that?

Because the compound decoction was used so frequently in the past, the main ingredient, the African tree snake, was almost driven to extinction. After the main ingredient became difficult to obtain, the frequency of use of the compound decoction was forced to decrease, and over time, the methods to counteract the compound decoction were lost.

"I get it now. Wizards used to use Polyjuice Potion to impersonate members of opposing forces and infiltrate to steal intelligence?" Daphne felt she had grasped the crux of the matter when Rice referred to Polyjuice Potion as a war potion, and quickly spoke up in hopes of getting Rice's praise.

Unfortunately, she was wrong, Rice shook her head.

"This situation is relatively rare."

To impersonate someone else using Polyjuice Potion, one needs to know that person extremely well, otherwise, the moment they open their mouth, they'll give themselves away. For example, if someone impersonates Rice, and Daphne walks in and finds "Rice" writing a paper on the history of magic, wouldn't she be instantly exposed?

"The soul of compound decoctions lies in becoming another person—initially, apothecaries wanted to do more than just become someone else's appearance; they wanted to imitate even the magic that person was good at."

"How could such a potion be made?!" Daphne exclaimed. If such a potion existed, wouldn't it be easy to mass-produce our strongest wizards before the war even begins?

She even imagined dozens of Dumbledores fighting side by side with her.

Rice's lips curled up slightly: "Don't be so absolute. He actually knows a potion recipe that can mimic another person's signature spell. It's just that the materials required were too precious even for him a thousand years ago, making it somewhat wasteful, and it also requires the cooperation of the person being imitated."

"In the process of this potion, the compound potion appears, which can really transform you into another person. If you dare to take the risk and are willing to pay the price, you can even become non-human or half-human."

Do you know how significant it is for a wizard to physically transform into someone else? The boost to combat power is enormous. For example, if you obtained Gryffindor's hair and drank a Polyjuice Potion containing it, you would become Gryffindor. While you wouldn't inherit Gryffindor's powerful dueling magic, you would possess his healthy physique.

Daphne subconsciously touched her arm. If she were to become like a Gryffindor, how thick would her arm become!

"This means you have acquired his reflexes, speed, and strength, which can help you dodge his spells in a duel and retaliate at top speed."

At this point, Daphne understood what Rice meant.

In ancient times, compound potions could not only transform a person into another and cause chaos, but also be used as a physical enhancement agent. A healthy and agile body could obviously help a wizard win in a duel.

"Alright, now that you understand compound decoctions, take a look at this." Rice pulled a scroll of parchment covered in writing from his pocket and handed it to Daphne.

"This is……"

"I expect you to be able to make a pot of Polyjuice Potion within three weeks, based on the recipe and preparation instructions. Of course, I will also lend a hand if necessary—after all, African tree snake skin is very precious." Rice had high expectations for Daphne, and she had also shown good talent in the previous Potions class, so Rice chose Polyjuice Potion as her first potion.

Daphne's eyes widened: Compound Elixir is an extremely complex high-grade potion, could she really make it? But Rice seemed to have said that there were instructions on how to make it?

She took the parchment and began to read it carefully, but the complicated steps on it made her dizzy.

After reading the recipe for the compound potion, Daphne couldn't help but exclaim: "This is not a recipe that any human could come up with. I really don't know how those senior apothecaries in the magical world came up with such a recipe."

She just made that remark, and Rice actually gave her a serious explanation.

"Potion science was originally just a study of the effects of various magical substances—such as the detoxification effects of bezoar and dung stone. Later, because some magical substances were too expensive, wizards began to look for combinations of substances with similar properties to replace them, which eventually led to the formation of various potion recipes."

Of course, potion-making wasn't invented by humans alone; other intelligent magical beings also invented many recipes. Because they are more sensitive to natural herbs, the recipes they created are even more ingenious and remarkable.

Daphne was stunned by these remarks.

"So how exactly do you know all this information!?"

"As I mentioned before, I have a large collection of letters from ancient wizards in my home."

Daphne: ...

Rice's words left her half-believing and half-doubting. She hesitated, wondering whether she should ask her father to also get some letters from the ancient wizards.

The rest of the medicine-making process was tedious—a lot of repetitive preparatory work was required before starting to make the compound decoction. Daphne did these tasks with her hands while chatting with Rice incessantly.

Will you stay at Hogwarts until you graduate?

"Probably, I haven't thought it through yet, but I can start looking for a job after fifth grade."

"With just an OWL certificate, it's not easy to find a job—but I can get my dad to write you a letter of introduction, that will make things much easier."

"Then I really thank you."

"Was that giant serpent in Slytherin's memories a deity? That kind of creature is almost beyond the limits of human imagination."

When Daphne asked this question, Rice frowned.

"I guess so. By Muggle standards, that giant serpent could indeed be called a deity."

"Amazing! I never imagined that those legendary gods actually existed!" Daphne's longing for that era was practically written all over her face.

"It's alright," Rice said nonchalantly. "There have never been any gods in this world. Gods are just more powerful people or creatures."

Wizards have no faith, or rather, their faith is themselves.

Muggles cry "God!" when they are in danger or extremely shocked, but wizards never do that. If they had to choose a name, wizards would choose Merlin—the name of a legendary sorcerer.

Rice's words were very rebellious to a young wizard from a Muggle family, but they were normal to a young wizard like Daphne, because true wizards do not have faith in gods.

Daphne nodded in response to Rice's words.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Update delivered. Sorry for the late update, I was kept working overtime. I'll go write the next update now, it might be around noon.

(End of this chapter)